1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a technique associated therewith, and in particular to a technique for displaying a user interface screen in an image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
In image forming apparatuses such as MFPs, operations are performed using various types of user interface screens.
Techniques for generating such user interface screens using a web browser have been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2010-128802 and 2008-287531, for example). Specifically, a web browser and a web server are both constructed within the same image forming apparatus. The web browser communicates with the web server using a predetermined protocol (HTTP), receives data for user interface screen display (web page data) therefrom, and displays a user interface screen.
In the communication between the web browser and the web server, in response to a request (HTTP request or the like) from the web browser to the web server, the web server transmits data as a reply to the web browser. If there is no request from the web browser side, updating display on the web browser is difficult, and therefore, it is difficult to update display on the web browser in real time based on the information managed by the web server.
In the case where a problem arises with the web server (the web server is in a “BUSY” or “DOWN” state, for example), the web server cannot respond to a request from the web browser. If, in this case, the display screen on the web browser side remains unchanged without being updated, an operating user has no way to recognize the abnormal state of the web server.
In such a situation, even if the operating user gives an instruction by operating a button or the like provided on the web browser (display screen), the web server actually cannot execute processing based on that instruction. The operating user can recognize a problem with the web server only after finding out that no response has been received for a while from the web server (duration of unresponsiveness). Ascertaining the duration of unresponsiveness in response to a user instruction, however, has an adverse effect on user operability.
Note that with the aforementioned techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2010-128802 and 2008-287531, because a notification of a problem with the web browser is always carried out via the web server, it is difficult to appropriately issue a notification to the web browser in the event of the occurrence of a problem with the web server.